


Shot

by shelllessturtle



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-02-10
Packaged: 2018-01-11 20:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1177592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shelllessturtle/pseuds/shelllessturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basic hurt/comfort; Emily get shot. There is a helicopter involved. Hotch/Emily.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shot

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Well, I checked the mail yesterday, and there was no letter from CBS saying they were going to hand over rights, so let's assume for now that I don't have them. Yet, anyway.

She blinked awake, tamping down on a whimper as pain flared in her side.  Fuzzy memories came back to her; a loud bang, paralyzing fear, fiery pain, warm blood, worry, not just for herself, but for—

She tried to sit up quickly, but gasped in tight pain.  The head of the man sitting next to her jerked up, and his grip on her hand tightened.  “Don’t sit up, Emily,” he instructed, softly and unnecessarily.  “I only just got the bleeding to stop.”

“Why am I alive, Aaron?” she asked hoarsely.

Aaron laughed quietly.  “The unsub had shitty aim,” he said.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” she groaned.

“The bullet hit your side,” Aaron explained.  “It missed everything vital, and just took skin.”

“Then—” Emily’s hands covered her stomach.

Aaron’s large hand covered both of Emily’s.  “We don’t know for certain, but I’m sure he’s fine.”

Emily could see concern in her lover’s eyes, no matter what he said.  She knew how he felt; she wouldn’t stop worrying until she knew her baby was okay.

A knock sounded at the door.  Aaron drew his hands away from Emily, and she let hers fall to her sides.  “Come in,” Aaron called.

JJ stuck her head into the room.  “Hotch, the—oh, Emily!  You’re awake!”  The blonde ran into the room to hug her friend.

“What is it, JJ?” Aaron asked after a moment.

“Oh,” JJ said, releasing Emily.  “The chopper’s here.”

“I’d noticed,” Aaron said drily.

Emily suddenly noted the humming that had been in the background since she had woken up.  “What?  Why?” she demanded.

“It may not be fatal, but the injury is still pretty serious,” Aaron told her.  “You need to go to the hospital for stitches.”

Emily groaned.  “How long am I going to be out for?”

“That depends on what the doctor says,” Aaron replied.  “Come on.”  He slid his arms under her, one behind her knees, the other under her neck, and lifted her.  She winced.  “Sorry,” he murmured.

He carried her out to the helicopter and set her gently on the gurney just outside it.  “Really, Hotch?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“Really, Prentiss,” he replied.  “You’re injured.  It’s procedure.”

Once Emily was in the chopper, Aaron climbed in after her.  “Hotch, what are you doing?” she demanded.  “You have to stay with the team.”

“Rossi has the team,” Aaron said.  “Someone has to go with you.  And besides, all they have to do now is find him.

“But—Aaron!” she hissed.

“Ready?” the pilot asked.

“Go,” Aaron replied.  The door was shut and the chopper took off.  Aaron pushed Emily’s bangs back and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “It’ll be fine.  No one will read into it.”

“They’re all profilers!” Emily protested, exasperated.  “It’s their _job_ to read into it!”

“They’re going to find out eventually, you know,” Aaron pointed out.  “And sooner rather than later now that you’re pregnant.”

Emily sighed and relaxed on the gurney.  “We might as well tell them,” she said.  “I doubt any of them would care, but…Strauss.”

Aaron laughed tiredly.  “How about you worry about healing and keeping the baby and yourself healthy, and leave Strauss to me?”

Emily smiled.  “I’ll hold you to that.”

/;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~

“Ten stitches,” Emily groused.  “Seems a bit much.”

“Did you see it?” Aaron demanded.  “You’re lucky it wasn’t more!  You’re lucky you’re alive!”

She leaned her head against his shoulder.  “I know, Aaron, I know.  The baby’s fine, I’ll live, but I’m tired and it hurts like hell.  At least I’m here to complain, right?”

Aaron wrapped one arm around her waist and placed his other hand at the back of her head.  “I was so scared,” he whispered.  “I thought I’d lost you.”

Emily wrapped both her arms around his waist, and they held each other.

Someone knocked on the door, and they let go of each other as the doctor walked in.  “How long so I have to stay out of the field?” Emily asked immediately.

“That depends on how fast you heal,” the doctor told her.  “The stitches should come out in two and a half weeks, and then you’ll be able to get a better estimate after that.  I want you on bed rest for a week, then nothing stressful until the stitches come out.”

Emily sighed and nodded.

“You’re free to go,” the doctor said, “but you shouldn’t go back to your team.  You should just go home.”  He smiled softly and left.

“Further notice,” Emily groaned as Aaron’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at the text and smiled grimly.  “They got him,” he said.  “They’ll be back here in an hour.”

“Are we just going to go back to Quantico with them, then?” Emily asked.

“It’ll be easier, and a hell of a lot faster,” Aaron said, nodding.  “Come on.”  He helped her get up, supporting her as they left the hospital.

/;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~ /;;;\ /;;;/ \;;;\ ~;;;~

JJ made a beeline to Emily when she got onto the jet.  “Hey, how are you?” she asked, taking Emily’s hand.

“Irritated,” Emily replied.  “A week’s bed rest.”

“Statistically—” Reid began.

“Shut up, Reid,” Emily sighed.

Reid’s mouth snapped shut.

The flight back to Quantico was quiet, filled with paperwork, music, and sleep.  Rossi filled Aaron in on what had taken place after he had taken Emily to the hospital, and Aaron worked on his paperwork.  Out of the corner of her eye, he watched Emily as she worked on something of her own, and dozed on and off.

She fell into a deep sleep about half an hour before the jet was set to land.  Everyone else was already asleep, so Aaron felt free to look at her.  He watched her chest rise and fall with her breaths, the folder edging closer and closer to the point where it would fall off her.

How were they going to tell the team?  And how would they tell Strauss without one or both of them getting fired?  Maybe they could talk about it on the way to Emily’s place.

Aaron began waking his team soon before the jet was going to land.  Emily was first.

“Emily,” Aaron whispered, smoothing her hair back.  “Emily, wake up.”

Her brown eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at him.  “Hey, Aaron.”

He could see the sleepy sin in her eyes.  “We’re still on the jet,” he murmured.  “We’re about to land.”

Emily nodded and began to sit up carefully.  Aaron moved around the cabin, getting everyone else to wake up.

With landing came a sticky situation.  JJ immediately volunteered to take Emily home, and Hotch couldn’t very well protest, until Emily spoke up.  “My car,” she said.  “I know I won’t need it for a while, but it’d be nice to know it’s there.”

“I can drive that back,” Hotch said quickly, “and then JJ, if you don’t mind, you could drive me back here to get my car.  It’s on the way.”

JJ nodded.  Morgan, Rossi, and Reid were already filing sleepily out of the plane.

Driving Emily’s car to her home, Aaron had time to think about exactly what he would say to JJ, and he had it all planned out by the time he and JJ helped Emily into her apartment.  Actually saying it was something else entirely.

“JJ,” he finally said when they were ten minutes from their office, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

“If it’s about you and Emily going out, spare me,” JJ replied, executing a sharp turn with more finesse than anyone should have at three in the morning.  “We figured it out two weeks in.”

Aaron stared at her.  “They’re all profilers,” Emily had said.  As it turned out, they hadn’t needed to read into the helicopter trip.

“Emily’s pregnant,” he finally said.

JJ glanced at him a couple times.  “I’d say incredulously, ‘And you let her go out in the field?’ only I’m guilty of the same thing,” she replied eventually.

“Help me convince her that, for now, the best place for her is behind a desk?” Aaron asked hopefully.

“Who’s telling Strauss?” JJ shot back.

“Me,” Aaron replied truthfully.

JJ glanced at him again.  “Good, because if you’d said Emily, driving or not, I’d’ve punched you.  Yes, I’ll help you convince her.  Enlisting Penelope might not hurt, either.”

“I plan to, and thanks,” Aaron said.

JJ slid her car skillfully into the empty spot next to Aaron’s.  “Good luck, Hotch,” she said quietly, “congratulations, and take good care of them.”

“Always,” Aaron replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Now, I want y'all to understand where JJ is coming from here. In my headcanon, she and Emily are the best of best friends. Seriously, I have this whole scenario in my head where they go out drinking together and out-drink misogynist assholes for shits and giggles (my headcanon includes the fact that they also have very high alcohol tolerances. JJ's is natural; Emily has developed hers). JJ is very protective of Emily, and vice versa, and in this situation, JJ just wants to make sure that Emily will be taken care of.


End file.
